by Kevin Zimmermann
(WHBL) – 200 U.S. Mayors Thursday called on the U.S. Senate for emergency fiscal assistance for municipal governments from the CARES act now being negotiated in Washington. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities initiative, chaired by Sheboygan Mayor Mike Vandersteen, joined the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative in pleading for the help yesterday.
The crisis of cities comes as demands for spending to address natural disasters and the pandemic are met head-on by revenue shortfalls that resulted from the social and business shutdowns imposed to control the virus.
Bob Gallagher, Mayor of Bettendorf, Iowa and Co-Chair of the MRCTI called the hoped-for revenue replacement “a matter of fiscal survival,” while Sheboygan’s Mayor Vandersteen said the funding would also “help safeguard coastal resources and mitigate future damage from erosion, flooding and severe storm events” as well as other environmental insults.
The 200 mayors represented within the two groups say that they’re facing dire long-term budget forecasts as the country faces the prospect of a prolonged recession, and the plea for help comes as Republicans and Democrats continue to try to reach an agreement on funding the next stimulus package through the CARES act.
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